Uber Gives Teens ‘Freedom’ To Travel Alone With New Special Accounts
Uber is unveiling a new system for teens to travel around a city alone while also giving their parents peace of mind.
Since private-hire cars have become a norm, most have barred unaccompanied minors from having their own accounts. But that hasn’t stopped the younger generation from taking Ubers to and from school, and in their daily lives. Now, Uber is finally giving those aged between 13 to 17 a little more autonomy by letting them set up their own profiles, which their parents and guardians will still oversee.
The program will enlist only highly-rated and experienced drivers who have been screened to accept trips from teenagers. In order to further safeguard them, these special teen accounts will have a host of guardrails in place to ensure that the youngster is safe. This includes audio recordings, a system called RideCheck which checks in with riders if a vehicle has stopped moving, and a PIN that a driver needs to input every time a passenger gets into the car to ensure they are picking the right person up.
With a new teen account, your teen now has the freedom to book their own rides and order their own food all under your supervision.
— Uber (@Uber) May 17, 2023
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On the parent’s and guardians’ side, they can track a trip from their phones and contact the driver if their child needs them to.
A centralized account will be linked between family members so that parents can watch the trips taken by their kids and the food they order via Uber Eats as well.
The app will also look like a trimmed-down version for them, with no advertising, and only two options for rides: UberX and Uber Electric. Furthermore, teenagers cannot order rides to take them out of the city they live in.
Teen accounts will first be available on May 22 in select cities in the US and Canada.
[via Engadget and Insider, Photo 169635954 © Audioundwerbung | Dreamstime.com]
